Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

I love this verse! It combines all my favorite things about being a Christian - the Word of God, wisdom, singing, togetherness, and thankfulness. My mother was a very wise woman of faith. When I was growing up I wanted to be just like her, so when I read in Proverbs that real wisdom begins with reverence for the Lord I began to study and learn about Him so that I could figure out how to have reverence for Him. My dad encouraged me to memorize Scripture weekly, and as I did, I began to recognize phrases in the hymns and songs we sang at church that came from the Scriptures I was memorizing. It was a revelation to me - that God’s Word could be in a song! Soon enough, those kinds of songs - the ones whose core is Scripture - became my passion. I quit listening to secular music so I could concentrate on doing what Colossians 3:16 says - learning wisdom and passing it along to other believers through psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and always with thankfulness to God in my heart. I believe it was this foundation that helped me to recognize that God was leading me to become a worship leader. 

It has been over 30 years now, and God is still teaching me more about Himself and His Word and worship every day. As the years have passed, my passion for Bible-centered songs has developed into a love for worship music (songs written to God, and songs written about God). I love it when God’s Word is woven into the melody and harmonies of a song - it really speaks to my heart and resonates in my soul, and I believe that God uses these kinds of songs to move people closer to Him. Music is a powerful tool for either side of the spiritual war that is being fought (unseen but all around us), and I want to take great care to make sure my mind is filled with songs that are going to help me focus on God’s amazing attributes and remind me to express my thankfulness to Him.  I know I sound like a broken record sometimes, but I will continue to encourage others to switch to Christian music and see what a difference it makes in their spiritual lives! 

Did you know that one evidence that you are a Christian is that there is a song in your heart?

Check out Ephesians 5:18-19:

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.

It’s very similar to Colossians 3:16, right? I may be reading it wrong, but I think this verse is saying that if you have the Spirit of God within you, you will find yourself singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Is that what you see? Please note that it doesn’t say that becoming a Christian will make you a singer. If you couldn’t sing before you were saved, chances are you won’t be able to sing saved either (Sorry!). BUT - you will have a song to sing to the Lord! And you and your Christian brothers and sisters will be inspired to sing the words of the Psalms, both traditional and contemporary hymns, and spiritual songs together, to encourage one another and to worship the Lord together. How exciting is that?!

Come and sing with us on Sunday!

Careen